Results 341-360 of 947 for speaker:Aidan Davitt

Seanad: Order of Business (19 Oct 2017)

Aidan Davitt: Agreed.

Seanad: Order of Business (19 Oct 2017)

Aidan Davitt: I would have no problem if he had not got on top of a ladder for a photo opportunity. He did not have to put on the gear and go to the top of a ladder for a photo opportunity.

Seanad: Order of Business (19 Oct 2017)

Aidan Davitt: I am being honest.

Seanad: Legal Metrology (Measuring Instruments) Bill 2017: Second Stage (19 Oct 2017)

Aidan Davitt: I acknowledge that the Dáil has a busy voting schedule at present. We are all aware of that in the House. The Bill is an important one, as the Minister of State said, and there are quite a lot of technical matters in it. Fianna Fáil supports the Bill and the active work the Minister of State is doing to upgrade the diktats from Europe on this. As a strong member of the European...

Seanad: Order of Business (24 Oct 2017)

Aidan Davitt: I rise in anticipation that His Holiness Pope Francis will visit in the third week of August, with the possibility that Croke Park will facilitate a celebratory mass on 26 August. I suggest we invite Pope Francis to address a joint sitting of the Houses.

Seanad: Order of Business (8 Nov 2017)

Aidan Davitt: The Leader had the Minister of State, Deputy Phelan, come to the House to discuss councillors' pay and conditions, an issue the Leader has raised himself on a number occasions. The Minister of State gave an undertaking before the mid-term recess that the ongoing neglect of councillors' pay and conditions would be addressed. As of yet, it has not been. I hope the Leader has some update on...

Seanad: Order of Business (8 Nov 2017)

Aidan Davitt: There have been a few false dawns. We had a firm commitment to address this issue, as the Leader is aware because he has been quite active in this respect.

Seanad: Order of Business (8 Nov 2017)

Aidan Davitt: I did not want to leave this issue unaddressed. The time for addressing it has come and gone, which is the reason I raised it.

Seanad: Order of Business (8 Nov 2017)

Aidan Davitt: We must keep the coal on the fire.

Seanad: Public Health (Alcohol) Bill 2015: Committee Stage (Resumed) (8 Nov 2017)

Aidan Davitt: The groceries Act was abolished with the aim of feeding the masses with cheap bread and milk. However, as all Members are aware, alcohol has become the favoured lure. Some very good points have been made by speakers. As Senator McDowell said, this is very important legislation. He touched on minimum unit pricing, as did Senators Wilson and Mulherin. Senators Wilson and Reilly spoke on...

Seanad: Public Health (Alcohol) Bill 2015: Committee Stage (Resumed) (8 Nov 2017)

Aidan Davitt: Quite a good point has been made on this. Perhaps tourist centres are what should be considered, as production on site might not be the way to clarify the issue. I believe the Guinness factory is the second biggest tourist attraction in Ireland. As Senator McDowell pointed out, we have the Jameson centre in Dublin. We also have Teelings in the same area spoken about by Senator Devine. I...

Seanad: Commencement Matters: Foreign Direct Investment (15 Nov 2017)

Aidan Davitt: I am concerned that domestic policy decisions, the housing crisis and the planning system are leading to an uncompetitive environment in the State for the retention of foreign direct investment and damaging efforts to attract new investment. Deputy Niall Collins raised these concerns in the Dáil and has asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Business, Enterprise and Innovation to...

Seanad: Commencement Matters: Foreign Direct Investment (15 Nov 2017)

Aidan Davitt: I appreciate the Minister of State coming to the House. I know this is not her remit. This is an issue which is not just important to me or to Opposition parties. The American Chamber of Commerce Ireland is telling us that we have a serious issue. On completions, two years ago we were told that we were going to have thousands of social houses. Something like 67 houses were built. Some...

Seanad: Councillors' Conditions: Statements (16 Nov 2017)

Aidan Davitt: I will not rehash the arguments that Senators Paul and Mark Daly have made already. I welcome the Minister of State to the House. I have been involved in different debates on this issue over the past four years, since my time in the Association of Irish Local Government, AILG, executive, and there has been very little progress. Much work has been done on this issue by the Minister of State...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Public Sector Standards Bill 2015: Engagement with AILG and LAMA (21 Nov 2017)

Aidan Davitt: I thank you, Chairman, for allowing me attend the committee today. I have a serious concern with the way the Department is treating councillors and their representative bodies. Do you intend to bring in the Department to clarify some of the issues raised in terms of meetings and consultations with the representative bodies? Some of the things that have emerged are shocking and how the...

Seanad: Order of Business (22 Nov 2017)

Aidan Davitt: As bitcoin pushes beyond the €8,000 mark this week I call on the Leader to liaise with the Department and Minister for Finance regarding their policy on bitcoin, of which I understand we currently have none. Today, bitcoin was the cause of two large American technology companies biting the dust. According to the Korean police, a bitcoin ponzi-type scheme recently in operation in...

Seanad: Order of Business (23 Nov 2017)

Aidan Davitt: I wish to raise Britain's imminent departure from the EU, about which we are all aware and which has been discussed at length in this House. Europe will tell us how much it is doing for us, that it is standing both behind and shoulder to shoulder with us, that it will help us over this and that we will not be at a loss due to our closest neighbour leaving the EU. The first tangible thing...

Seanad: Order of Business (23 Nov 2017)

Aidan Davitt: The country being most disenfranchised is Ireland so it is hard to believe it could not have been weighted so as to give us preference. We are out on a limb now.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Cost of Doing Business in Ireland: Discussion (Resumed) (28 Nov 2017)

Aidan Davitt: I was quite shocked and it is why I brought it up to get people from the banks before us in the next session in the new year. I was talking to the owner of quite a large business in my town of Mullingar, who employs 80 people. He has gone back to paying his staff in cash as a means of getting rid of it. That is dynamite stuff, as one can appreciate. With any large amount of cash, perhaps...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Cost of Doing Business in Ireland: Discussion (Resumed) (28 Nov 2017)

Aidan Davitt: I know the witnesses have touched on this issue. I have heard many stories. I can give people the names of those involved if they wish. I do not want to put them into the public domain. When I spoke to some of these guys at the weekend, it really opened my eyes. I knew representatives of small retailers were coming before the committee today, so I made a few inquiries among people...